It was a padded bench. Low, compact, with two soft cuffs on straps on either side.
I picked it up and turned it over in my hands.
"What is this," I said.
"A positioning aid," she said.
I looked at the cuffs.
"For."
She took it out of my hands and set it on the counter. "For optimizing the angle. After." She cleared her throat. "Tilts the pelvis. Keeps everything—" she made a vague gesture downward "—where it needs to be."
I stared at it.
"And these." I touched one of the cuffs.
"Keep your legs in the right position without having to—" She stopped. Started again. "So you don't have to hold them up yourself. It's ergonomic."
I picked up the small silicone cup next, turned it over. Had no idea what I was looking at. "And this one."
She took it from me, her cheeks going pink. "That goes in after. It's a cervical cap. It keeps everything—" Another vague gesture. "In place. While gravity does its thing."
I looked at her.
"There's a specific amount of time you're supposed to lie with your hips elevated after," she said, a little defensively. "I read the research."
"How long."
"Twenty to thirty minutes."
I picked up the black box. Looked at the picture on it. "And this is for the twenty to thirty minutes."
She made a sound that was not quite a word.
"Millie."
"There's research," she said, "about cervical—about muscle contractions during—" She stopped. "It helps move things in the right direction. Theoretically."
I looked at the box. Looked at the bench. Looked at the little silicone cup. Looked at her, standing there with her arms crossed and her chin up and her ears absolutely red.
Something occurred to me.
"You bought all of this," I said slowly, "to get pregnant."
"To optimize our chances, yes?—"
"You bought a bench."
"It's a positioning?—"
"Millie." I picked the bench back up. Turned it over again. Ran my thumb over one of the padded cuffs. "You want me to put you on this."
She pressed her lips together. "That's the general idea."
I looked at the cuffs again. At the angle of the thing. At the way the padding was shaped to tilt a person's hips up and keep them there, open, exactly where you'd want them.
Something very focused happened in my brain.
